The New Experiences of Ludwig
by DanishPastriesandmore
Summary: Sequel to My Brother. Following meeting Gilbert for the first time, Ludwig will now navigate through relationships, family, his past and his potential new future. Human AU, Germany(Ludwig) centric, GERITA, more minor PruHun. M for suggestiveness.
1. Chapter 1

Hello hello! The sequel to My Brother is finally here! With an equally terrible title!

I wouldn't say its completely necessary to read My Brother beforehand, but I think it lays out the groundwork for this story. But please, enjoy! Anyway, this story will follow Ludwig as he navigates through life. Thats kind of the best description I have at this moment, its a bit more episodic than My Brother.

(And I apologise for it being late- I am at university!)

* * *

Ludwig squeezed his hands a bit nervously. He had come to the restaurant far too early, 20 minutes too early, and was no sitting at the table on his own whilst drinking water.

He felt like a bit of an idiot.

Feliciano had chosen the place, and perhaps he over-thought that it would be difficult to find the restaurant, but it really wasn't. Was he too overdressed? It was a casual suit, perhaps maybe a shirt would've been fine…

Finally, he saw a face he recognised. Feliciano.

He stood up as Feliciano sat down at the table.

Feliciano smiled. "You're here already! I thought I was early, how long have you been here?" he asked.

"Not long." Ludwig lied, and smiled at Feliciano, who was nicely dressed in a shirt and trousers.

"You look nice" Feliciano said.

"Thanks" Ludwig said. "I thought I might be a bit overdressed." He said, smiling a bit.

"OH no, you look fine!" Feliciano said, his accent coming through. "Oh god, one time me and my friend in Italy went to a party, thinking it was a cross-dressing night, but turns out that was the next month! We had fun though, dressed like Victorian women amongst all these boringly dressed people."

Ludwig laughed a little. "That's quite funny"

"it was, and when my brother found out he called me such an idiot. This was when I was younger, though, and Facebook events weren't a thing." He said.

Ludwig nodded. "You have a brother?"

Feliciano nodded. "My twin, Lovino, but he's the older one by a few minutes. He's like me, only he's not, as he is grumpier. More sarcastic. I suppose he would fit in well here, with the English, haha!" Feliciano laughed. "One time my brother…"

Ludwig soon learned that Feliciano liked to talk. A lot. Ludwig didn't mind though, he enjoyed listening to Feliciano talk. He could listen to every word the man said.

"…. My grandfather laughed, but my parents weren't happy and wouldn't let us go outside for a week! Me and Lovino found it really funny though." Feliciano laughed, and so did Ludwig. Feliciano flittered his hands around. "Enough about me! What about you! I already know you have a brother, named Gilbert, right! Tell me about your childhood, in Germany!" Feliciano asked sweetly, face beaming.

This what was Ludwig was dreading.

"Oh well, I, erm" he began, before collecting his scrambled thoughts. "Well, I was put up for adoption, then grew up in foster and state care. Got an apprenticeship in banking, then moved to London about a year ago. I… didn't know I had a brother, well half-brother, until a few months ago." He said, in one go. He couldn't go into detail yet, could he? _Could he_? He wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. He felt like an abridged version of his life was best.

Feliciano's smile had fallen. "Well that's…different... sorry, I didn't know." Feliciano said, apologetically.

Ludwig shrugged it off, then smiled at Feliciano. "Its fine, really. I just haven't gotten used to telling people." He said.

Feliciano nodded. "Right, I get it! So, how did you and Gilbert get in touch?" he asked.

Ludwig recounted how he and Gilbert met. "I said goodbye to him last Sunday."

"Wow. That's really emotional. I had no idea, you seemed to me as if you knew each other for ages."

Ludwig smiled. He was glad that he and Gilbert appeared like that. "I'll take that as a compliment." He said.

The date continued, as they moved onto other things apart from the Ludwig's childhood.

The date ended, and the pair had been chatting for a few hours. The two went to part on the street.

"Goodbye, I'm only around the corner." Feliciano said.

"I'm getting the tube." Ludwig said. "It was nice meeting with you. Er, properly" he said, perhaps a bit too formally.

Feliciano smiled large, and Ludwig melted a bit. "You too." Feliciano said.

Feliciano looked at Ludwig, and Ludwig looked at Feliciano, and Feliciano leant in a bit. Ludwig was unsure of what Feliciano was trying to do.

Feliciano opened his eyes. He looked disappointed. "You don't want a kiss?" he asked.

Ludwig fidgeted. "Oh- I- errr" he stammered, and leant in. Feliciano pecked him on the cheek quickly, and he leant a way, and smiled awkwardly. "That was nice." He said.

Feliciano just smiled again. "Sure thing, see you at work!" Feliciano called, and walked away. Ludwig walked away, a huge blush on his face.

* * *

Ludwig got home, and opened his phone to see a text.

 _'HEY, HOW DID THE DATE WITH FELI GO :)_ '- Gilbert

Ludwig rolled his eyes at the emoticon, of course his brother would send them despite being a grown man. He replied back _. 'I THINK IT WENT OK. I LIKED IT.'_

 _'THAT'S GOOD, HOPE YOU GET UR 2ND DATE :)'_

Ludwig nodded, and put his phone away.

He wondered if he should text Feliciano to say he enjoyed the date, or whether they should just meet up at work, or should wait a few days, or… he didn't want to come across as desperate.

He decided to text Feliciano.

 _'HOPE YOU GOT BACK SAFE'_

 _Oh god, it seemed a bit harsh, better soften it,_ he thought, and added a smiley face. It wasn't his usual way of doing things, but it would have to do.

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. _I DID THANKS :) :) :) WE SHOULD DO THIS AGAIN SOMETIMES X_

Ludwig went to bed ashamedly giddy that night.

* * *

"I thought that film was quite scary!" Feliciano said as they walked out of the cinema.

Ludwig nodded absently. "It was only the hunger games"

"But it was quite intense, don't you agree!?"

"I suppose it was" he agreed.

Feliciano smiled at him. "I suppose I like romance and drama and family rather than this sort of thing." He said.

Ludwig nodded, but was surprised to feel a hand threading its way into his hand. He looked at Feliciano startled.

Feliciano's smile fell a little. "This is okay, isn't it?", but withdrew his hand anyway.

"Oh no- its fine, I was just surprised." He said, and hesitantly grasped Feliciano's hand.

Feliciano grinned widely. "I'll make sure to ask next time." He said.

And so the two walked down the street and Ludwig let a small smile grow onto his face.

* * *

END CHAPTER

I think sometimes people forget that the first Hunger Games film is quite intense for its demographic. Seriously, children _die_ in that film.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review if you liked and leave any constructive criticism you have!


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter! I'll be finished with exams soon so updates should be more consistent.

* * *

"Hey Ludwig!" he heard a cheerful voice call, and he turned to see his _boyfriend_ walk into his office. They had been dating for a few weeks now, and Ludwig was getting used to being in a relationship. So far, he thought it as going pretty well, and Ludwig surprised himself with it feeling rather natural and easy. Maybe he was just with the right person.

"Oh, hello Feliciano."

"Hey Lud; you're free tonight aren't you?" he asked sweetly.

Ludwig melted a little at his angelic voice, but snapped out of it. "I don't appreciate the nickname Lud." _Seriously, first Gilbert and now Feliciano? What was it with people and shortening his name?_

Feliciano laughed. "Gosh, Lud _wig_ , you're so serious! Are you free? It's a Friday"

"Yes, I am" He said.

Feliciano grinned. "Do you want to come over to mine tonight? I'll cook us pasta!" he asked.

"Of course, sounds good!" Ludwig replied, and Feliciano grinned.

Feliciano grinned. "And then perhaps maybe we can, you know, have a little fun afterwards" he said, quieter than before, then winked, grinned and left Ludwig with a huge blush on his face.

Oh no.

* * *

Its not that Ludwig didn't want to have sex with Feliciano.

He did, and the dreams he'd been having proved it.

But he was sure he hadn't told Feliciano of his status as a virgin.

He had mentioned his past to Feliciano a few times. He mentioned being homophobic. But he also told Feliciano that he had accepted himself as a gay man. And that probably implied some sort of experience for Ludwig. Most people seemed to have had sex, so he was nervous at being embarrassingly terrible. Should he mention it to Feliciano, or would that make it too awkward?

Was he over thinking this. What if Feliciano's idea of fun was a board game after dinner?

Should he tell Feliciano, or should he pretend like he knew what he was doing? Was he over-thinking it, and should he just let it happen? He'd seen porn, but he was sure that it was probably harder than that. Ludwig wasn't sure, but there he was, at Feliciano's door.

Feliciano opened the door and gave him a kiss.

"Hey, Ludwig, welcome!" he said cheerily, and Ludwig followed him inside to his flat. It was larger than his, because Feliciano shared with a room-mate. He knew his room-mate was on a around the world tour at the moment so they the apartment free.

"I've started the meal, so make yourself comfy, or we can chat in the kitchen!"

They did so, and soon they were eating some sort of obscure Italian pasta dish Ludwig had never heard of. He enjoyed it though. Feliciano took the plates.

"Thanks for the meal, Feliciano, it was very nice." He said as they walked into living room and they sat down onto the sofa.

"Oh, it's okay, Lud, I love cooking and cooking for people is the best! Ever since I was little, I always wanted to learn how to cook. Whenever I was with my grandfather, he would show me new recipes…" Feliciano chattered on, and Ludwig tried to keep up with Feliciano, but he spoke so fast some times. "….and then I realised I just wanted to cook as a hobby, it was far too stressful to be a chef full-time! It sucked the fun out of it! So I took a job in banking. My parents were very proud." He laughed. "How did you get into banking?"

"Apprenticeship" Ludwig said.

Feliciano nodded, and there was a silence, as if Feliciano was expecting more of a story like his. Nope.

Feliciano looked at Ludwig, a gleam in his eye "So, Ludwig, shall we move onto the dessert?" he said, and Ludwig was about to reply when Feliciano started kissing him. _Hard._

Feliciano and him had kissed before, but this was a lot more forceful and passionate, with far more tongue involved.

It went on for a bit, and Ludwig could feel the heat rising between them. Feliciano stopped the kissing for a moment. "You're a very good kisser, Ludwig" he said, and then they returned their lips together.

The kissing became a bit more frantic, and Ludwig could feel himself getting aroused. He then felt Feliciano reach for his belt.

"Do you want to top, or me?" Feliciano asked.

 _Oh, god_. "I-" and Feliciano was kissing him on his neck and- "I don't really know what I'm doing."

Feliciano paused. "Sorry?" he asked in confusion, before trying to kiss him again.

"I've never, er, had sex before." This was as awkward as Ludwig feared, and even worse.

Feliciano stopped and looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Ludwig nodded in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I should've said something."

Feliciano shook his head. "No, its my fault, _I_ assumed that you must've!" he said, and he seemed a bit upset at his mistake. "I mean you're so handsome…!" he said.

Ludwig blushed a bit. "Erm, thanks. I've never really had the opportunity." He said. "I've generally kept to myself." He sighed. "God, this is pathetic."

Feliciano took his hand. "It's not! It's fine!" he said desperately, trying to reassure Ludwig. "I know I'm different to you, I've had a lot of partners since I was sixteen. But, you know, everyone's different, and that's okay!"

Ludwig wasn't sure if that was the most reassuring thing he'd ever heard, but he nodded anyway.

"I was trying to be romantic and passionate and _sexy_ in setting up tonight." Feliciano laughed, then smiled at him. "Do you want to have sex…?" he asked.

Ludwig nodded shyly, but started having doubts. "But I-"

"Let's... not do penetrative then tonight. Let's just familiarise ourselves with each other, just have fun, okay?" he said, and Ludwig nodded, his nerves dying down a little. He stood up from the sofa and held out his hands. "Shall we move to the bedroom?" he said, and Ludwig took his hands.

* * *

After their _session_ , the two laid in bed next to each-other. Feliciano was stroking Ludwig's hand.

"I really like you, Ludwig." Feliciano said.

"I really like you too." Ludwig said.

They both smiled.

* * *

Next chapter. Because of this chapter I put the rating at M. I know this is only suggestive and tame compared to most M fanfictions on this site, but you're not actually _meant_ to have smut on this site.

Anyway, just a small chapter showcasing Feliciano and Ludwig being boyfriends. The moral of this story is to make sure you know each persons position on sex before you try and initiate it. I guess. And I think Ludwig is too nervous for his first sexual encounter to be anal, so yeah, I feel that some non penetrative sex would be best!

Please review if you enjoyed and want to critique!


	3. Chapter 3

Shorter chapter! This story probably won't exceed 8 chapters in total.

* * *

They had been dating for a few months now.

It was going well, Ludwig thought. Ludwig liked Feliciano's endless supply of happiness, and Feliciano liked his apparent niceness. Or so Feliciano said.

And they had been sexually active together for a while now, and had done anal sex. And although Ludwig was sure that Feliciano might be lying, at least somewhat; Feliciano kept saying that he was perfectly fine at it.

Now they were currently running through the park. Ludwig had vowed not to wait for Feliciano, but after not hearing his footsteps behind him, he had to turn around.

"Ludwig, Ludwig!" Feliciano was several yards behind. "Pleeeaseee can we stoooop"

Ludwig sighed. "We've only been running for 10 minutes. You always stop too early" he was only doing what Feliciano had asked him.

"I do! But you're very intense!" Feliciano breathed, and Ludwig eventually relented and they sat on a bench. Feliciano had asked Ludwig to help him get fit, as he saw how muscled and toned Ludwig was. Ludwig had agreed, but he wondered if maybe he was taking his role too seriously, with how Feliciano was reacting.

They rested for a while. "So, Ludwig, have you ever been to Italy?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Ludwig shook his head. "No, I never went outside Germany before moving here." He said.

"Ve? Really? No holidays?" Feliciano stuttered.

"The care homes and charities for youths would organise day trips among the countryside and different towns, but not really in the sense you're talking about." Ludwig shrugged.

"Maybe we can visit Italy together? My family would love to meet you" he suggested.

Ludwig smiled a little at that. "I'd like that."

The sun shone down on them. It was a warm day for May, and Ludwig was starting to feel hot. "It's too warm to work out anymore, we can go back to my place to rehydrate if you want."

Feliciano nodded and they began walking home. Feliciano looked at him. "So Ludwig… I've been wondering… do you know your mother?"

Ludwig stiffened. Feliciano seemed to enjoy asking questions, which was so... _alienating_ for him. "No." he answered finally, hoping that Feliciano would drop the subject.

Feliciano paused, as if he was wondering whether or not to continue. "Do you ever think about meeting her?"

Ludwig's stomach twisted. "Sometimes. I have her name. Gilbert gave me the details on how to contact her. But I'm not really interested." He said. _Please drop it now_ , _Feliciano_ , he pleaded inside his head.

"Why not?"

Internally, anger flared up. "Ah, I don't know, I'm just not interested!" he snapped, and Feliciano flinched a bit.

"I'm sorry!" Feliciano said apologetically. "It's just that I want to get to know you better, Lud, you're very hard to read."

Ludwig calmed down a bit, feeling a bit foolish for reacting so angrily. _It was probably normal for boyfriends to know about each others families,_ he thought. "It's fine."

When they got back to his flat, he let Feliciano have a shower. Whilst he made some food, he pondered Feliciano's words. He wondered why he did not want to meet his mother. He wondered what his mother was like. Did he look like her? Gilbert showed Ludwig a photo of his father, and he looked like him… Did she want to meet him? Would she be pleased that he had gotten a good job? Would she be happy that he was gay?

But potentially, maybe he just didn't want to deal with that part of his life. Did he need a mother who didn't watch him grow up? What would his life would've been like if she could've kept him?

But in the end, was she even anything to him? Just a figure in his past.

Perhaps, in general, there was too many questions that Ludwig didn't want to answer.

"Thanks for the shower!" Feliciano said, hair damp and eternally cheerful, and surprising Ludwig and snapping him out of his daze.

"Ah, of course" he said nonchalantly.

Feliciano must've noticed his detachment. "Ludwig, I'm sorry if I intruded and upset you."

"No, its fine" he said. "I guess I often think about what happened to her."

Feliciano nodded. "And…?"

Ludwig sighed. "Although she is my mother, it feels like I don't have a mother, she doesn't seem like anything to me." He answered. "I don't see why I _have_ to know her."

Feliciano nodded. "Ve, that makes sense." Feliciano stated. Feliciano seemed to know for once when to drop the subject.

Ludwig sighed. What he had told wasn't a lie. It wasn't the complete truth either.

Was it okay not to know?

* * *

Thanks for reading, and please review if you enjoyed and/or want to critique!

Updates should come faster now that I've finished exams.


	4. Chapter 4

Next chapter, and thanks to Seele Esser Deutsch for reviewing!

* * *

Gilbert was a loud person, even on the phone.

"And then the children tried to eat crayons. God, I was never that weird as a child. Was I? Who knows? Did you eat crayons, Ludwig, as a child? Was I missing out?" the obnoxious voice said over the phone.

Ludwig blinked. He wasn't sure quite sure how the conversation had led to this. "I don't think I've ever eaten a crayon."

"Haha, okay. Probably just the children of my school. Shit, anyway, is Feliciano coming with you for the whole time?" he asked.

"Yes. Then we'll go to Italy." He said.

"Ah, man, it's going to be great for you to meet Elizabeta! And Roderich, I suppose." Gilbert said. Ludwig nodded and said their goodbyes.

They had organised to meet over the summer holidays. Ludwig found himself surprised that he was looking forward to it.

For the two years he had been set on just working. He hadn't worried about holidays or time to himself or time to socialise. But since Gilbert had visited and Feliciano had become his boyfriend, he found his attitude changing. He had someone to go with to work gatherings. He found common ground with Arthur in that they both enjoyed football, and now enjoyed taking lunch breaks with other coworkers. He had travelled outside London to visit parks and the _sea,_ which he had never really seen before.

It was sad to say that he was genuinely started to feel like he was, well, _living_.

Not everything was going to be perfect though.

He walked into work as normal. However, there seemed a downbeat tone as he entered his quarter.

"Er, has anything happened?" he asked his manager.

"I will say once everyone is here."

Ludwig waited around and conducted work as usual. He became more and more disconcerted by Arthur's lack or appearance.

Eventually his manager stepped forward.

"As you can see, Arthur has not come to work today." She announced to Ludwig and his co-workers. "Last night he was attacked on the way from work. It was a homophobic attack it appears. He's not near death or anything, but he was hit with a bottle in the face. It… may cause him to go blind in one eye."

Gasped shocks filled the tense air.

"Arthur will come back to work as soon as he can, but until then, we're organising a little get-well package. If everyone could donate…"

Ludwig tuned out the noise or his manager. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't considered the possibility of his friends being attacked like this, not in this day and age in this country.

But mostly it reminded him of his past, and he felt sick.

* * *

Arthur returned two weeks later.

He walked into work as normal, but it was immediately apparent that the attack occurred. He had a few scars on his face, and it was clear that his left eye was unfocused and damaged.

He didn't say much, except from thanking everyone for their support, and continued working. Ludwig couldn't help but notice that everyone was a little careful around Arthur. Ludwig couldn't help but struggle to look at him directly.

He noticed that Arthur was not doing a lot of work. He seemed distracted, and only half heartedly pushed keys in his computer rarely. He seemed to be lost in thought otherwise.

At lunch break, Arthur was making tea in the kitchenette whilst chatting to Ludwig making coffee. "Everyone keeps staring." He grumbled privately to Ludwig. "It's healed a lot, it's not that noticeable compared to how it looked before."

Ludwig couldn't think what to say. "Sorry."

Arthur shrugged. "Nothing to apologise for."

Ludwig nodded and thought of what to say. "You're back at work reasonably early."

Arthur looked at Ludwig. "It's so boring at home. I enjoyed my routine beforehand where TV was just for night, and work during the day. Nothing to do all the time bores me to tears. And I can only do some of my work at home. So I returned. Alfred wasn't happy, but I wanted to return to normalcy. Do you understand what I mean?" Arthur said.

Ludwig nodded, but wasn't convinced when he considered Arthur's poor work ethic today. "Yeah, that makes sense." He agreed, not wanting to press further.

Arthur groaned. "You know the kids who did it, seen them hanging around before where I live, that's how they knew my sexuality. Apparently they didn't mean to _hurt_ me. They just thought smashing a bottle in my face would be funny or something." He spat sarcastically. "Those people don't think of the consequences. Like 'lets jump the gay man, it'll be funny!' Fucking arseholes…" he trailed off.

All Ludwig could think of was himself laughing at Arthur, walking down the road…

Arthur smiled at Ludwig. "Sorry if I'm dumping on you, you're easy to talk to. I can't believe we've only been talking for a few months. You're far too shy."

Ludwig nodded, but he could waves of guilt rising. He eventually burst. "I was one of those kids."

Arthur looked at him puzzled. "Sorry?"

"I used to be like them. You know, go around, laughing at people. I used to make fun of a gay people."

Arthur looked at him incredulously. "Well, I don't know quite what to say about that."

Ludwig couldn't look at him in his eyes. "I really regret that period of my life."

"Well, I can see that, with your apparent homosexuality." Arthur said. "Well, you've piqued my interest. How did you figure out you were gay?"

"I realised I didn't like girls at around 15. And I lashed out against it because the only experience with gay people I had was homophobia, so I continued with it. But one night I got drunk and tried to kiss my friend, who retaliated strongly. I ended up in the hospital and realised that I was in a poisonous world. I left that type of life behind me, not that I had much of a choice, and tried to get my grades up in school. Somehow I ended up here, an accepted my sexuality."

Arthur seemed in thought, then looked at Ludwig. "Any my attack made you feel… guilty?" he asked.

Ludwig squeezed his hands together. "I suppose."

Arthur nodded. "That's certainly interesting. You accepted your sexuality but not your past."

Ludwig was confused at that statement. "I-"

"Look, Ludwig, I'm saying this a friend. Seriously, the people are work here are _fine_ but you're the only one I could consider a genuine friend since you don't seem to mind my rants on football and politics. And trust me, after all that's happened these past weeks, I'm not giving you much sympathy. _And_ I'm not a psychologist so I'm not an expert. _But_ " he grasped Ludwig's shoulders. "You need to get over yourself. I mean it nicely, but you can't continue in life as a gay man feeling guilty every time someone mentions the word 'homophobia', or similar. I don't know how, as I don't know your past, not really. But you're going to need to _move on_ from that if you're ever going to reach any sort of contentment."

Ludwig felt stunned. "But I-" he stopped himself. Was he wallowing in his past too much, his guilt? Was he holding himself back? He thought he had accepted his past. But maybe acknowledging it was not the same as confronting it. "That's given me something to think about" he concluded.

Arthur smiled warmly.

They went back to their work stations. Ludwig's thoughts were confused, but he eventually peeked over to see Arthur absently staring at the computer screen, typing words then deleting them, as if he wasn't really thinking about what he was writing. "Can I give you advice?" Ludwig said, finally, after minutes of this torture. "Go home. Don't come into work tomorrow."

Arthur spluttered indignantly after he snapped out of his daze. "I say-"

"You haven't done any work. I think you wanted a distraction, from, err, what happened, but you're also too distracted by what happened to do it. I think it's best if you're at home" Ludwig said firmly, but he hoped he didn't come across as harsh. But if he took Arthur's advice, and tried to stop feeling sorry for himself, that included being too overly cautious with people and not trying to offend them.

Arthur's glare softened. "I… I'll think about it. I'm definitely staying to the evening." Arthur said, firmly.

Arthur didn't come back to work the next day.

He sent Ludwig a text thanking him of sorts, and stating he was definitely going to make sure that when he returned to work, his mind was on the job.

Ludwig considered it a small victory.

* * *

In my original plan, this chapter was going to spread over many and be a much larger part of the story. However, I ended up shrinking it down and down into this, just keeping the core elements of the arc I suppose. It didn't need to be as long as I initially intended, although I suppose I lost a bit of Arthur's character in the process. Still, this is Ludwig's story!

Please review, I appreciate every one!


	5. Chapter 5

New chapter! Please review if you liked! Thanks to Phantom Ice, Seele Esser Deutsch and Maryranstadler1 for reviewing!

* * *

When Ludwig landed in Germany, it surprised him that he felt overwhelmed by everyone speaking German. He had spent so long in London that he had forgotten how it felt to be embedded amongst German people.

"Ludwig, please don't leave me, I don't know German!" Feliciano cried, hugging his arm.

Ludwig sighed irritably. "Feliciano, you've told me that many times before. And why would I leave you?"

Feliciano shrugged. "Accidentally, maybe…". Ludwig just rolled his eyes, but with affection.

They left the terminal and were waiting for Gilbert to pick them up. He was half an hour late, and Ludwig could _tell_ this was a normal occurrence.

A car eventually pulled up, and the door opened to reveal a woman Ludwig recognised from pictures to be Elizabeta, Gilbert's girlfriend.

She huffed and smiled at Ludwig. "Sorry we're late. Nice to meet you Ludwig, Feliciano." She said to him in German, then glanced at Feliciano. "Ah, I'll make sure we all speak English now!" she said as she switched to English. Feliciano beamed and Elizabeta helped them get their cases into the boot.

Feliciano and Ludwig sat in back of the next car next to a brunette man. "Hello, I'm Roderich, Gilbert's- and yours cousin." He said, and shook his hand, formally.

Gilbert was sitting in the driver's seat. "Hey, Lud! Great to see you! And nice to meet you Feliciano. It-" he was cut off by Elizabeta yanking him out of the driver's seat.

"Gil, I'm driving back, _you_ got us lost."

Gilbert held his hands up outside the vehicle. "Not cool!" he said, but walked round to the passenger seat anyway. "Hey, you should've seen Roderich when I met up with him in Austria backpacking. I think we ended up in a farm with cows."

"We only got lost because you distracted me!" Roderich spat, red faced.

"Of course, Roddy, of course!" Gilbert laughed.

Families.

* * *

The half an hour journey was one of the longest he ever experienced.

He didn't mind, but after Gilbert and Roderich and Elizabeta all sniping at each other very quickly grated on the nerves.

He had received a text from Arthur though, who asked if he landed ok in Germany, and telling him of his own holiday in the USA. Ludwig was relieved for his friend, and he was happy that Arthur would continue to talk to him about anything.

Ludwig could also cry of happiness when he arrived to the Elizabeta and Gilbert's home. It was lovely, of a decent size, and with two bedrooms and a garden. They had only just moved in, and didn't feel quite homely yet, but it had a certain amount of charm to it.

"So Ludwig, Gilbert says you live in an apartment in London. Is it nice?" Elizabeta asked sweetly.

"Ah, yes, it's fine, but it's small and expensive for what it is."

"I see, London must be an expensive city."

Ludwig liked Elizabeta, and she seemed like a good match for each other, as Elizabeta could take Gilbert's personality, and he could take her strength.

As the two held a conversation about house prices, of all things, Gilbert came and whisked Ludwig away.

"Come on, let's have some bro talk!"

The two drank beer under the dying sun, and idly chatted about work lives.

"And then the child ate the crayon!" Gilbert laughed.

Ludwig sighed, mildly irritated by his brother's forgetfulness. "You told me this before. On the phone"

"Did I? Aw, man. So, how are you and Feli doing?" he asked.

Ludwig shrugged. "Good. We both like each other." He said. "I really like him" he said after a pause, lowering his eyes a bit out of embarrassment.

Gilbert beamed. "That's great! Do you have sex a lot?"

Ludwig turned red, and gared at Gilbert, _how_ _could_ his brother be so blunt about this sort of thing? "That's nothing of concern to you!"

Gilbert grinned, knowingly. "That's good then." He laughed, and then paused and looked at Ludwig. "I'm going to ask Elizabeta to marry me."

Ludwig was surprised. He didn't know his brother all that well, and he didn't present himself as the marrying type. "Really, when?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I don't know when. I haven't planned it out. I know we both said we wouldn't mind it in the future a few years ago, but why wait?"

Ludwig nodded. "That makes sense. You two are good together."

Gilbert nodded. "I'll figure out when, and I'll plan it out. It'll be great. Romantic and shit."

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Gilbert turned to Ludwig "So, how are you? Not your relationship, not your job, _you_?" he asked.

"I'm fine, of course." He replied, not quite knowing what Gilbert was really asking.

Gilbert's face twitched slightly but it didn't change much from his stony expression. "Fine meets a lot of things, Lud. Are you sure? Is there anything I can do for you? Because I don't mind, I'm really awesome with life in general."

Ludwig doubted that last sentiment, but he felt that Gilbert could understand his family a little better as he was a part of it. Ludwig fidgeted a little in his seat. "I've been thinking…. About my mother. A bit." He said.

Gilbert leant forward. "Like, do you want to meet her and stuff?"

Ludwig ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know."

Gilbert fidgeted his own hands. "Ignore me if you disagree, it's not my place, but I think you should. Because otherwise you'll always wonder. And she is interested in meeting you, remember I said so when I was looking for you, but you have to make the first move because that was part of what she signed up for."

Ludwig's stomach churned. He was beginning to feel that meeting his mother would be an important step in his life, but it could all go wrong. And maybe Gilbert didn't quite get it, not really. "I'm not sure yet."

Gilbert backed away, looking a little disappointed. "You decide if and when, bro."

The two went back inside, a slightly tense air between them.

* * *

The evening was filled with food, telling bad jokes (most of them were Gilbert's) and listening to Roderich play the piano. He was clearly rather talented, Ludwig was amazed that wasn't his profession and that he was in fact a manager for a store.

Overall, it was a relaxing evening.

Until Gilbert and Elizabeta decided to 'pretend' wrestle.

Roderich ducked out of way as the pair, arms interlocked, dove towards the sofa. "Gilbert! Give up- I'm stronger than you!" Elizabeta said.

"No way!" Gilbert cried and dragged her off the sofa, and pinned her to the floor.

Elizabeta kneed him in the crotch.

Gilbert moaned. "That's cheating!" he cried softly as Elizabeta pushed him off him.

"You punched me in the boob earlier, which really hurts!"

"Fuck you, bitch" and they began wrestling around on the floor again.

Ludwig, from another sofa, felt like he was watching some sort of bad sitcom. "Please, you'll hurt yourselves" he said to deaf ears as Gilbert gathered Elizabeta into a head lock.

Feliciano seemed both horrified and enraptured by the display. "Should we intervene?" he asked Ludwig, seemingly worried.

Roderich must've heard him. "They do this every time I see them, don't worry, one will win and then they'll go, ahem, to bed." He said, calmly.

As Ludwig turned back to the fight, Elizabeta was on top of Gilbert, pushing him down, but both seemed to be trying to catch their breath. They struggled for a few seconds.

Elizabeta paused with kneeing Gilbert in the leg, and instead looked intently at Gilbert. "Marry me, Gilbert." She said. Ludwig almost choked in surprise, but Feliciano let out an audible gasp.

"Yes!" Gilbert said immediately, but then his face turned sour. "Wait! I was going to propose to you!"

Elizabeta removed herself from Gilbert and sat on the floor. " _I_ was always going to propose to you, idiot"

Gilbert huffed. "No, I was, and I would've done it better than this! Whilst we were fighting, _really_ Liz?" he exclaimed

"Well, I had it planned out at a restaurant, but this seemed like a good time- er, for some reason." Elizabeta's face was flushing.

Gilbert sighed. "Romantic gestures was never our thing. But I know what is our thing!" he said, and grabbed Elizabeta by the hand and pulled her away from the living room. They both ran up the stairs and Ludwig heard the door slam.

Roderich sighed, rubbing his temple. "I swear I'm not part of this family sometimes."

Ludwig wasn't sure what he just witnessed, but he started laughing. Roderich glared at him. He turned to grin at Feliciano.

Feliciano's eyes were watering. "That was so romantic." He breathed.

Of course.

* * *

More development! And fluff. This is moving towards something.

Please review if you like and want to help me improve!


	6. Chapter 6

New chapter, thanks for reading, the favourites, following and reviewing!

* * *

Ludwig appreciated being back in Germany.

He had been away so long and he had never really felt like he had a home so he didn't realise that he missed it until he returned. He missed the language, he missed the food, and he the way the country _felt_.

A few nights after his brother's engagement, he and Feliciano were lying in bed together after their hosts went to a party with his friends to celebrate. Not wanting to intrude that much, the couple stayed at home. They were sweaty after their night's activities, but both were content to just lay in each other's arms.

Feliciano seemed a little bit too in thought.

Ludwig stroked Feliciano's hair. "You okay?" he asked.

Feliciano smiled. "Of course!" he said, a bit too quickly, then seemed to falter. "Well, I've been thinking. About my parents and such."

Ludwig nodded, a little confused. He wasn't really sure why Feliciano would think about his own parents that much. "Okay." He said flatly.

Feliciano twisted the duvet within his hands. "Well, you see, I told you a really happy story about how I came out and quit culinary school because it was taking the fun out of cooking. That wasn't true. Well, half true."

Ludwig nodded. "I… see?" He was confused to where Feliciano was going with this.

Feliciano just looked at Ludwig. "When I came out to my parents, they were really disappointed. They didn't tell me that they didn't love me or threaten me or anything, but they were heartbroken at first. They were just sad, as they thought my life was going to be less meaningful with a man and no kids, less happy, and more _dangerous_. So I quit culinary school, which my parents had been disappointed in me taking up as well but just kind of accepted it. I wanted to make _them_ happy, and I thought _I'd_ be happier with my parents being happy. So I compromised. For them. And they were happy when I became a banker in London…" he trailed off.

Ludwig was a little stunned. "Oh, Feliciano- I… that's fine. But why- why did you say otherwise."

Feliciano sat up from the bed, and rubbed his eyes a little, wiping away tears. "Because it was easier to pretend that I hated culinary school and hated the stress and that's why I quit. I like to pretend I quit on my own terms, not because I couldn't stand my parents sad faces. But I loved it, it was stressful but so fun! And I'm a terrible banker. I'm here out of luck. I think I would be a better chef."

"Oh, Feliciano, that's fine. You're not that bad of a banker, they would fire you if you're not competent." Though really it made sense. Feliciano never seemed at ease with banking, always leaving work to the last minute, always trying to avoid work, and always looking a bit miserable during meetings.

Feliciano blinked at him. "Well, that's slightly comforting" he laughed, and Ludwig blushed a little.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano. "Why did you tell me this now?" he asked quizzically.

Feliciano shrugged. "I was thinking about you. And me. I mean, it's not really the same, but I think everyone wants the past to be different, or has lied about how the past effects them."

Ludwig was stunned. "I…."

Feliciano clasped Ludwig's hand. "I mean this in the nicest way possible. But do you not want to meet your Mother because it's scary? Is it scary in the way I couldn't really accept giving up cooking? Scary because you never really had the control you wanted?" Feliciano looked at him. "If that makes sense. I'm not one for trying to explain things…"

Ludwig nodded. "Yes. I understand what you're getting at." 1 in the morning after sex wasn't really the ideal time to be thinking about this sort of thing. He was just scared. He has always been scared. He never wanted to take the plunge. "Yes, I guess. I suppose that is the case."

Feliciano beamed at Ludwig and then lied down again. Ludwig's thoughts were swirling inside his head as he tried to really think about what Feliciano said.

"But I'm very happy with this life so far because I met you." Feliciano broke the silence, breaking Ludwig's thoughts. "Because I… love you. Very much Ludwig." He said, looking a little nervous and Ludwig could see Feliciano trying to gage his reaction.

Ludwig's heart was racing and he even felt slightly dizzy. No-one had ever really said that to him before, not in this way. "I love you too, Feliciano." He said. And he meant it. He never knew he would or _could_ feel this way about someone, but he did. He loved Feliciano.

They slept together soundly.

* * *

The next day was one of rainy weather, but it didn't dampen. Feliciano and Elizabeta went shopping, and Gilbert played video games downstairs.

Ludwig was planning an important phone call.

He was glad he was on his own, as he didn't really want any interference from anyone else. He wanted to make this call on his own, and tell them later, because he felt that he didn't need their opinions right now.

He eventually punched in the numbers onto the phone from the little slip that gave the number of his mother.

It didn't ring for long. "Hello?" a male voice answered. It sounded like a child.

"Erm, I'm looking for Jennifer Schmidt?" he asked.

"You mean mum, let me get her…" he heard scrambling of the phone and shouting and running about. After a few minutes, he heard a woman's voice. "Hello, Jennifer Schmidt speaking?"

"Er, hi, My name is Ludwig Schmidt and I was the child you put up for adoption in 1990." There was probably classier, more tender, ways to provide such an info dump, but Ludwig was too stressed to try, and wasn't even sure if he could be tha tvague.

He heard his _mother_ on the phone move around. "I- I" he could tell she was getting emotional. "This better not be some cruel joke."

"No, m'am, I am speaking the truth. I can send proof if needed" He answered too formally, hoping that his mother would believe him.

He heard her sob quietly. "I can't do this over the phone. I'm sorry." She said. "I would love to meet you, if that's okay with you." She said.

Ludwig felt relieved that it was at least going smoothly, and there was no backlash at ringing or whatever. "Of course. I would love too" he said, more softly then the previous statements.

They exchanged some contact details and addresses, with Ludwig promising to email proof. Jennifer Schmidt had seemed elated at the London address. "Ludwig, I can't wait, I just, I can't" his mother said as they said their goodbyes, and put the phone down.

Ludwig felt a little numb after.

After a while, Feliciano returned and threw his arms around him, asking what was wrong in panicked tones.

Ludwig hadn't even realised he had been crying.

* * *

The new chapter! Feliciano's (made up) back-story was mentioned in like chapter 2 off handedly. A theme of this story is that life is a bit shit but has its good parts.

I find the emotional moments like Ludwig's phone call hard to write. But not much more now!

Anyway, please review, and tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter took so long to write, surprisingly. I'll explain more at the end of the chapter, but thank you for waiting and reading and sorry for the wait!

* * *

His brother had slapped him on the back with 'well-done's' when he told him he had rang his mother, and even tried to throw a small party.

Elizabeta and Roderich had delivered their congratulations a bit more comfortably for Ludwig.

Feliciano looked a little disappointed that he hadn't shared with him the decision, but told him that it was going to be okay. His mother would love him. Ludwig appreciated Feliciano's reassurances, but felt uneasy all the same.

He emailed his mother and sorted out a meeting, only a few days away. He and Feliciano left for Dresden immediately. Ludwig had travelled to Dresden once, as part of an excursion ran by a charity for underprivileged children. It was nice enough, but it felt good to be returning to the city with a purpose.

Feliciano and Ludwig looked around the city the first day, and Ludwig enjoyed it, but his mind was usually elsewhere not to look at the architecture and contemplate war like he was supposed to. Feliciano noticed his distraction.

"Ludwig, you'll be fine! Your mother is very excited to meet you."

Ludwig shrugged nervously. He was happy to meet his mother, but also apprehensive. He decided to just try and accept that there was no way of knowing how it would turn out.

The next day arrived, and Ludwig would leave Feliciano in the park and go meet his mother at a quiet cafe. Feliciano would stay out of Ludwig's way for the day, and Ludwig would text him later.

"Feliciano, don't wander around too much. You'll get lost"

"I'll just go shopping, I'll be fine!" Feliciano said cheerily, and Ludwig sighed internally, knowing that none of his words had gone in. "See you later Ludwig. I love you!" Feliciano said. Ludwig smiled.

"I love you too."

They separated and Ludwig travelled to the small park that he and his mother agreed to meet at. He anxiously tapped his fingers, and inwardly dreaded the meeting. Everything could go wrong.

But everything could go right as well.

"Ludwig?" he heard a voice call, snapping him out of his thoughts.

There stood Jennifer Schmidt,. She was tall, lanky with greying hair, showing her early 40s age. She was nothing Ludwig didn't expect, he'd seen the pictures, but she was so much more _real_ here.

Ludwig realised he hadn't said anything.

"Sorry- hello-" he said quickly, and stood up from the bench. "Mother" he said finally, the word rolling off his tongue awkwardly.

Jennifer broke into a crinkled smile at his term of address. "Ludwig, _my son_ , you look well."

Ludwig smiled. "Thank you- you look well too."

Jennifer Schmidt sat them down on the bench again. "I was so happy when you called- I always wanted this day to come."

Ludwig smiled slightly at her. "I-" he paused, unsure on how to articulate his issues with calling her. "I waited. I guess I wasn't sure until I was ready." He eventually finished

His mother nodded. "I understand. When your brother first contacted me for information, I was upset by thinking about you and hearing your name. After however, I almost rang straight back to him to ask him to keep me updated. But I didn't because I read that it was best if you-the child- contacted the parent first. It made sense. For years I never knew if I should think of you as my own son or if I should move on and forget or if I should try and reclaim you or… I didn't know." She finished.

Ludwig felt… relieved at this statement. "I felt confused about the situation as well."

Jennifer smiled and grasped his hand. "I just have to say Ludwig- if I could've afforded to keep you, I would've. But adoption seemed best, and the family seemed nice that you went with, and I tried to be happy, but Gilbert said later they put you in care again…"

Ludwig shrugged. "I don't think about that family too much." He didn't know what else to say about that subject. He thought sometimes about the what-ifs of living with the family that adopted him, but he only had names and no-faces, and it was different than his mother. "But you have your own family now. Tell me about them" He said. He didn't want to dwell on his own back-story too much, not when this was their first meeting, their happy meeting.

"Oh, where to start with them… my partner is a mechanic, I met him after I had lived here for a few years. Felix and Daniel, my two sons, are 15 and 12. They're quite the excitable pair." She said. She stated a few facts about her family, how she met her partner, her children's favourite subjects, the time they drove to France but got lost and ended up the middle of some mountains in Switzerland… Ludwig laughed along with her.

Jennifer finished her story. "I hope you want to come and meet them. They knew of your existence and my sons are so excited that we got into contact. Though, I didn't tell them that I was meeting you today, imagine the questions they would pester me with!" she laughed slightly. "Oh goodness, I've talked about myself too much… tell me about London, it's so exciting that you live there."

"Oh well, it's quite loud and busy and I'm not quite sure if that type of city lifestyle is for me. I am happy though, I like my job."

"Have you got a girlfriend or anything over there?" she asked, and Ludwig could tell she was nervous at the personal nature of the question.

Ludwig inwardly sighed. He knew this question would come; the big reveal. "Mother, I'm gay." He said bluntly.

Her face fell, slightly, and Ludwig could feel his own heart sink a little at the sight. "Oh… well… that's…" she stumbled over her words, and then her eyes watered and she cupped her face.

Ludwig was a little stunned. No-one had ever _cried_ at him revealing his sexuality. His confidence waned a little, and he was unsure of what action to take. He eventually tried to comfort her. "Mother, er, Jennifer, er, Mother, I-"

Jennifer dried her tears a bit and looked back at him. "I'm sorry- but are you sure? I mean, I'd hope at 25 you're thinking about the future- surely you want a wife and children don't you?"

Ludwig didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought about _having_ a family because he had only recently acquired a family; _dear god_ he stressed about most things in life but _children_ hadn't been one so far. "I have no desire for a wife, and children I don't know about yet." He answered after a pause.

"But-" she stopped herself. "It's my fault- If only- if only you had had a more normal upbringing-"

"Please stop." He cut her off. "I'm happier now than I've ever been. I've met Gilbert and heard from you and, well, I have boyfriend now." Jennifer face fell even more a little but she tried to. "His name is Feliciano, he's from Italy, I work with him, and he's very nice and sweet and he listens to me even though I never have much to say really, no-where near as much as him, and..." He stopped himself. He knew he was rambling, but Feliciano was the first thing in his life that he could talk about with any sort of passion. He could feel tears in his eyes a little, and tried to hold them back. "I love him." He finished.

There was a deathly silence. Ludwig willed for her to say _something_ , _anything_ in the tense air between them.

Jennifer sighed a little. "I see." She didn't say anything more for a bit but then continued. "We don't have to talk about your lifestyle for a bit."

Ludwig internally sighed. He had no reason to try and extend the conversation further when it was already tense, and not going anywhere. "Okay." He said.

The two chatted about other things, from the weather and football, but it was a little more awkward now, and Ludwig Jennifer eventually looked at her watch. "I need to go. I have to pick-up Felix from football practice, he'll be annoyed if I'm late."

Ludwig smiled. "It was… very nice meeting you."

She kissed him on the cheek. "I am so happy meeting you- please, we must meet again. I" She asked, formally but in a pleading tone.

Ludwig smiled. "Of course."

She hugged him. "I love you very much."

They left the park and went in different directions, and Ludwig found himself crying softly. Crying because he was happy that he met his mother. Crying because it was painful. Crying because he had finally achieved for a while that he considered impossible.

He sat down by a tree, contemplating calling Feliciano, when he tried to think of when or where or if or how he and Jennifer Schmidt, his _mother_ would meet again. It would be so much more awkward now, and could he ever introduce his mother to Feliciano? His mother seemed so disappointed with his homosexuality, called it a lifestyle. She didn't understand him. She didn't understand him _at all_.

Ludwig hovered his hand over Feliciano's number. He remembered his talk with Feliciano in bed, about how he gave up cooking because his parents didn't like it, how they didn't understand their gay son. But Feliciano had said he was happy. He said he was content with life.

And Ludwig realised he was going to have to accept it.

He'll try to make his mother understand. He'll be patient. He'll put effort into their relationship. And there might be results.

And if there wasn't, Ludwig realised he would be okay with it. Or learn to be okay with it. He'd have to, _to move on_.

He rang Feliciano's number.

"Ludwig, hello!" a cheery voice answered. "How did it go?" he asked a bit more softly, as if he realised his previous tone was a bit too much for the situation.

"It-" he paused, unsure of how to answer the question. How did it go? Really? "All I know is that I'm going to take it step-by-step." He replied finally.

He felt oddly confident for once.

* * *

This took a while to write because it felt like I was intruding in on a personal moment. Even though these are fictional characters, in a story I created. It just felt a little odd, but I eventually got into the swing of it.

 _Of course this is much longest chapter._

You could view this as the end of the story, but there will be another chapter that will properly conclude the story. I suppose this is the 'thematic end' I guess.

Feliciano and Ludwig are so good together- I feel they'd balance eachother out and have at least a good understanding of eachother.

Please review if you enjoyed and such, and want to offer any criticism and anything. Every one is appreciated. Again, apologies for the wait!


	8. Chapter 8

I managed to write this one much quicker after I got back into the swing of things.

* * *

4 months later

"I look back at my past actions and I feel ridiculous. There is little I can do to really apologise for it, but I was confused a lot about myself. But I apologise for the hurt I caused you."

He had messaged Feliks three weeks ago, to apologise to him, after realising that he could contact him. He felt he needed to help settle any ghosts of his past, or at least some of them. He had no desire in meeting up with any previous friends, or visiting the places he grew up, but he did realise he could apologise.

He hadn't expected Feliks to ask to meet him, but here he was, sitting across from his previous victim Feliks Luckasweicz, now sitting across from him in slacks and a jumper, accompanied by a killer pair of heels. It was his hotel room, as Feliks was staying in Hamburg for business before flying to New York for his fashion business. He had clearly done well for himself as a designer in the fashion world.

Feliks didn't say anything for a few moments and just had body language to show he was deep in thought. But then he just smiled.

"OMG, relax Ludwig. I'm totally fine with it. Well, ok I always considered you an asshole when I thought back, but then I received your email and I really liked it, like I never realised that I needed an apology. I just kinda wanted to meet you myself. Your bullying affected me and everything but I wouldn't have decided to try really hard at fashion to rub it in your faces when I got rich."

Ludwig smiled. "I see. Well, I'm glad to see that you're doing well."

Feliks smiled. "Thanks. But part of the deal inside my head was that you weren't also supposed to be successful. You were supposed to be cleaning toilets."

Ludwig laughed a little nervously. "Sorry."

Feliks noticed Ludwig's uncertainty. "I am joking though. I realised as I got older that life wasn't that simple. I mean, I never took into account the idea you'd be gay."

Ludwig shrugged. "I came to that conclusion as well- That life wasn't simple, not the fact that I'm gay." He added quickly. God, he was bad at explaining himself. "Though I've known for a few years now. That I'm gay. More than a few, the reason I lashed out at you was because I was gay and you were so… flamboyant." He said. He hoped that wasn't offensive.

Feliks laughed again. "Like, such a compliment. But it's funny, I'm not even 'full gay'. Totally bisexual and dating my _female_ assistant Tori. But you know, clothes that women wear are pretty and I like wearing them, so that means I have to be dating men right? Imagine the looks on your old friends faces when they realise you're the one with a boyfriend."

Ludwig sighed. "I think they'd know. I mean, I got drunk enough to try and kiss one. I ended up in the hospital after that."

Feliks smile fell. "Oh." He said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Like, I knew you were in the hospital, but I never really thought about it myself. I guess homophobia is a bitch."

Ludwig shrugged. "No need to apologise, but thanks."

"Nah, I do, people are affected by homophobia in different ways."

Ludwig nodded, strangely comforted by Felik's words.

He felt his phone buzz. "Oh, I do apologise, I have to leave now." He said. "My brother is getting married."

Feliks' let out a sigh of relief. "Oh shit, is that why you're dressed in your suit. _Thank god_ , like, I thought I'd underdressed, and that's rare for me."

Ludwig laughed, feeling like a bit of an idiot. "Yeah, I probably should've explained this. I suppose it does look a little odd."

Feliks waved. "Bye, Ludwig, I do hope we get to meet again sometime. Like, let's keep in contact."

Ludwig couldn't deny that he felt his heart swell a little. "Of course."

* * *

"Ludwig, I'm freaking out! What if this wedding goes wrong? I just want it to be awesome." Gilbert had said straight away to Ludwig as he walked through the door in the hotel where the wedding was being hosted. "What if I stumble over the words? What if fall over? What if Liz's dress catches fire? Why have we got candles anyway?! I hate candles!"

Ludwig shrugged. "You're being ridiculous. Calm down." He placed his hand on Gilbert's shoulder. "Calm. Down." He said.

Gilbert nodded. "Right. I'm being ridiculous." He said, and tried to psyche himself up. "Of course it's going to be awesome!" Gilbert proclaimed and fist pumped the air. Ludwig rolled his eyes at his brother's quickly changing mind. "Oh, Luddy, how did your meeting go with Feliks? Sorry, my mind is all over the place."

"Fine. I think its best we met in person, and I could apologise to his face. And he seemed to want that as well, to put the past behind us."

Gilbert slapped him on the back. "That's brilliant. I'm glad for you, bro."

Ludwig nodded. He would've liked to have talked more about it, but there was no way he was making Gilbert and Liz's day about him.

But Gilbert did continue talking. "I'm so glad you're here, on my wedding day. I mean, I've only known you for about a year but that's not the point. Its just so awesome."

Ludwig hugged his brother, albeit briefly. "I'm glad I'm here too. I'm glad you reached out to me." Gilbert smiled largely. Ludwig noted his brother's excitement. "I'm sorry your parents aren't here." He said. Ludwig felt little affection for their father, but he had laid flowers down at his grave and made his peace. But he knew Gilbert did miss them, even if he did complain about their lie.

Gilbert looked at Ludwig with a sad, wistful look on his face. "Me too." He admitted, and patted his brother in wordless thanks. They decided to move wedding organising.

They were being helped by Gilbert's friends Antonio and Francis, who'd previously met during Gilbert's stag party, which he tried to deny that he got _that_ drunk at. They were friendly enough however, and eventually guests started to arrive. He was eventually greeted by Feliciano and Roderich.

"Sorry I'm late, Roderich tried to direct me…" Feliciano said, as Roderich just grumbled in the background.

Ludwig shrugged. "It's fine. Let's take our seats."

It proceeded as a wedding normally proceeded. Gilbert stumbled over his vows, but so did Elizabeta. They kissed, everyone cheered. They eventually moved onto the reception.

During the wedding however, Ludwig had heard the church door open and close, and had turned around to see his mother join the group. He had been surprised, she was meant to be arriving half way through the reception. He waved to her slightly as she sat down at the back and smiled.

They had been conversing since they had previously met. Ludwig had to return to London with Feliciano to work soon after, they so they mainly skyped or called each other. Ludwig found it strange, to be learning about another person over the phone. He had told her more about himself, his past, and had tried to explain his homosexuality to her. Times she got upset, but there were times she just sat and listened. But he invited her to Gilbert's wedding, as it was his next time in Germany and the rest of his family were looking forward to meeting with her.

So after the wedding, he immediately went out to meet her.

"Hey, you made the ceremony." He said as they sat outside the hotel in the garden. Ludwig was glad that the weather was warm.

"Yes, I ended getting an earlier train than I first thought, so I got here an hour earlier. It was a very beautiful ceremony." She said. "They look very happy together."

Ludwig nodded. "I know. Would you like me to introduce you to them?" he asked.

Jennifer beamed. "Of course, I won't deny that I have been excited for this" she said, but as Ludwig was set to move, Jennifer grasped his arm. "Is your boyfriend here?"

Ludwig winced slightly. "I said he would be. I'd like it for you to meet him face-to-face." He said.

Jennifer motioned for him to sit. "Ludwig I- I understand what you've told me. About your past and your lifestyle. I know I probably appear cruel, but… don't you want what Gilbert has?" she asked, as she brought her hand up to gesture to the hotel's decorations for the wedding.

"Technically I could get married in London."

Jennifer sighed. "That isn't what I meant. I meant… the only gay people I've ever known were gay prostitutes Ludwig. They weren't happy people." Jennifer explained. "I got out of prostitution, I met a nice man, and had children _I could keep_ and achieved happiness."

Ludwig understood a little better where his mother was coming from. "Mother, you have to believe me when I say that things have gotten a lot better for gay people since the time you were a prostitute. And if I tried to be straight and marry a woman I _wouldn't_ be happy. This is who I am, and I can't pretend it isn't, because pretending only bought me pain."

Jennifer nodded but didn't reply, as if she was digesting what he said. After a few silent moments, she stood up. "Come on. Introduce me to him, introduce me to Feliciano. And Gilbert. And Elizabeta, and that cousin. I'm looking forward to it." She smiled.

Ludwig smiled. Of course.

He introduced her to Gilbert. His brother had smiled and cheerily kept the conversation going and animatedly told her about his career as a teacher and how 'awesome' Elizabeta was. His mother semed to like him, if a little taken aback at how 'un-like' Ludwig he was.

Ludwig could tell that her smiles were more forced when she talked with Feliciano, but she seemed to relax, a little in amusement, as Feliciano attempted to tell his life story in great detail, but deliver it into a few minutes of speech, whilst he roughly shook her hand. Feliciano had eventually finished the story, but Jennifer had laughed.

"He seems very nice, Ludwig. Though you weren't lying when you said he talked."

Ludwig nodded. "Well, he makes sure there aren't many awkward silences."

Jennifer smiled. "I am happy for you Ludwig that you're happy. I don't understand completely, but I am." She said.

Ludwig hugged his mother in a rare show of affection. "Thank you, it means a lot."

The reception continued and people eventually delivered speeches. Ludwig's own had been short but full of affection, and Antonio's and Francis' were silly and bawdy, and the rest of the wedding continued without much note of ill.

He had left his family and joined Feliciano outside.

"How are you? Too much German?" he asked.

"A little. At least your mother understands English." He said.

"Thanks for joining me this week though, you didn't have to."

Feliciano blinked at him incredulously. "Of course I had to! I love seeing Gilbert and Elizabeta, they're so funny and friendly." He said.

Ludwig laid back a little, and turned to Feliciano. "I love you, Feliciano."

Feliciano beamed at him. "I love you too." Feliciano replied.

And the two held hands in silence for at least a few minutes, before re-joining the party.

* * *

END

Thanks for reading my story!

This story ends my 'My brother' universe, and I tried hard on it. I feel I accomplished everything I was trying to set out with this sequel: Finish Ludwig's story and explore ideas of whatever life is. Its full of compromises, its complex and its a bit shit, but you can move past that with people you love and care about. This story was also to an extent about homophobia.

Jennifer Schmidt is just too much into the whole 'nuclear family and happiness' mind-set to realise that Ludwig is probably fine as a gay man. Mainly because when she thought about what Ludwig would be she hoped he'd be rich, successful with a wife and kids, you know, 'normal'. The moral of that story is don't idealise people. She's making an effort at least, unlike some homophobic parents, and in my head she gets over it after meeting with Feliciano and Ludwig a few more times. Often you see the portrayal of homophobia as just linked to religion, which really skims over the surface of ingrained social bias to heterosexual couples, and you don't even realise it. I can sympathise with Jennifer Schmidt, in a way.

Germany work on your equal marriage shit.

Anyway, I hoped you liked this fanfiction, please review to share your thoughts!


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